John N M Wijngaards
SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN WIJNGAARDS
John Wijngaards is a priest, theologian and writer.
LIFE
He obtained a Master’s in Scriptural Studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute (LSS) and a Doctorate in Theology at the Gregorian University in Rome.
He lectured at St John’s College in Hyderabad, India (1963 – 1976), which was the major seminary for 5 dioceses. After a spell as Vicar General of the Mill Hill Missionaries (1976 – 1982), he was professor at the Missionary Institute London which was affiliated to Louvain and Middlesex Universities (1983 – 1998).
In 1976 he also founded Housetop Centre for Adult Faith Formation which later developed into the Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research.
From early on he demonstrated that there are no valid arguments from Scripture or Tradition to exclude women from the ordained ministries. When Pope John Paul II declared definitively against the ordination of women in 1994, he resigned in protest from exercising his priestly ministry in protest. He founded www.womenpriests.org to publish his findings online. Read a summary of John Wijngaards’ life story here: johnwijngaards.com/bio-foreword/.
PUBLICATIONS
John Wijngaards wrote quite a few books. His earliest works were academic studies on various aspects of the Old and New Testament.
Because of the enormous need for ordinary Catholics to get to know Sacred Scripture better, he then specialised on pastoral books. Some became educational best-sellers for seminaries, noviciates and colleges, like Background to the Gospels. Other books reached out to those at work in the biblical apostolate. Other books again provided an introduction to biblical spirituality.
As time went on the question of women’s place in the Church loomed large. In this context John Wijngaards published classics such as Did Christ Rule out Women Priests? and The Ordination of Women in the Catholic Church.
Many of these books are now available online. See John Wijngaards’ publications here: johnwijngaards.com/books-john-wijngaards/.
ARTICLES
Throughout his long and varied ministry John Wijngaards also published hundreds of articles. Again they scale the width from strictly academic texts to pastoral instructions.
He was a regular contributor to various weeklies and magazines. While working in India he ran a weekly column on Sacred Scripture in the national Catholic weekly the New Leader. For six years he wrote the Scripture column in the English quarterly Mission Today which at the time had a circulation of over 100,000 readers. During his ministry in England regular articles from his hand appeared in the influential weekly The Tablet over more than thirty years.
An overview of John Wijngaards’ articles can be found here: johnwijngaards.com/john-wijngaards-articles/.
PODCASTS
At the request of people who prefer to listen to the spoken world, John Wijngaards also recorded a number of podcasts.
In total six were recorded. All of them concern the question of women’s ordination. What to make of the arguments of St Thomas Aquinas, the famous medieval theologian, who thought women were incapable of ordination? Why did Jesus only choose men to serve among his twelve apostles? Does it prove he thereby excluded women from the priesthood for all time to come?
And what can we learn from the age-old devotion to Mary Priest? For nineteen centuries many Catholics had firmly believed that Jesus’ mother shared in his priesthood. But if Mary could, then other women can . . .
To listen to John Wijngaards’ podcasts, click here: womenpriests.org/podcasts/wijngaards.asp.
John Wijngaards is a priest, theologian and writer.
LIFE
He obtained a Master’s in Scriptural Studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute (LSS) and a Doctorate in Theology at the Gregorian University in Rome.
He lectured at St John’s College in Hyderabad, India (1963 – 1976), which was the major seminary for 5 dioceses. After a spell as Vicar General of the Mill Hill Missionaries (1976 – 1982), he was professor at the Missionary Institute London which was affiliated to Louvain and Middlesex Universities (1983 – 1998).
In 1976 he also founded Housetop Centre for Adult Faith Formation which later developed into the Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research.
From early on he demonstrated that there are no valid arguments from Scripture or Tradition to exclude women from the ordained ministries. When Pope John Paul II declared definitively against the ordination of women in 1994, he resigned in protest from exercising his priestly ministry in protest. He founded www.womenpriests.org to publish his findings online. Read a summary of John Wijngaards’ life story here: johnwijngaards.com/bio-foreword/.
PUBLICATIONS
John Wijngaards wrote quite a few books. His earliest works were academic studies on various aspects of the Old and New Testament.
Because of the enormous need for ordinary Catholics to get to know Sacred Scripture better, he then specialised on pastoral books. Some became educational best-sellers for seminaries, noviciates and colleges, like Background to the Gospels. Other books reached out to those at work in the biblical apostolate. Other books again provided an introduction to biblical spirituality.
As time went on the question of women’s place in the Church loomed large. In this context John Wijngaards published classics such as Did Christ Rule out Women Priests? and The Ordination of Women in the Catholic Church.
Many of these books are now available online. See John Wijngaards’ publications here: johnwijngaards.com/books-john-wijngaards/.
ARTICLES
Throughout his long and varied ministry John Wijngaards also published hundreds of articles. Again they scale the width from strictly academic texts to pastoral instructions.
He was a regular contributor to various weeklies and magazines. While working in India he ran a weekly column on Sacred Scripture in the national Catholic weekly the New Leader. For six years he wrote the Scripture column in the English quarterly Mission Today which at the time had a circulation of over 100,000 readers. During his ministry in England regular articles from his hand appeared in the influential weekly The Tablet over more than thirty years.
An overview of John Wijngaards’ articles can be found here: johnwijngaards.com/john-wijngaards-articles/.
PODCASTS
At the request of people who prefer to listen to the spoken world, John Wijngaards also recorded a number of podcasts.
In total six were recorded. All of them concern the question of women’s ordination. What to make of the arguments of St Thomas Aquinas, the famous medieval theologian, who thought women were incapable of ordination? Why did Jesus only choose men to serve among his twelve apostles? Does it prove he thereby excluded women from the priesthood for all time to come?
And what can we learn from the age-old devotion to Mary Priest? For nineteen centuries many Catholics had firmly believed that Jesus’ mother shared in his priesthood. But if Mary could, then other women can . . .
To listen to John Wijngaards’ podcasts, click here: womenpriests.org/podcasts/wijngaards.asp.
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Publisher: CBE International
Genesis teaches that men and women share the divine image equally and are therefore fully equal as human beings.
Publisher: CBE International
Genesis teaches that men and women share the divine image equally and are therefore fully equal as human beings.